Road Trippin’ It; Route 66

Hope you enjoyed the pictures from Part 1 of my little adventure. If you missed it, click here to see the pictures from Highway 10. As my sister and I were planning our road trip, there were so many different things that we wanted to do. We wanted to go to the Grand Canyon, the Puye Cliff Dwellings, and Tinkertown, not including little stops along the way. All of these things were just not doable, since we only set aside 2 days to get home. We decided to cut out the Grand Canyon and the Puye Cliff Dwelling and instead we took good ole Route 66 home.

Route 66 technically is no longer is in commission, and Highway 40 either is Route 66 or runs along side it. While on Hwy 40 there are “Historical Route 66” signs, at the exits, that lead you to the actual Route 66 roads. As we started our journey to Tucumcari, New Mexico from Hill Country, Texas, we drove through some beautiful country side and through some of the cutest little towns that I have ever seen! Much like the 90 and 67, through Marfa and Alpine, these were just 2 lane roads and practically empty.

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Our first stop on Hwy 40, was the U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, TX. The Tower Station was built in the 1930’s and has been bought and exchanged several times throughout the years. Thankfully it is now an historical structure and was given to the city of Shamrock. Next we stopped for a photo op of a cute Philips gas station, in McLean. Then, I was pulled over! On all the Hwys in Texas, there are signs that says, “left lane for passing only.” They really mean the left lane is for passing only. I saw the police officer ahead of us, so I set the cruise control right at 75mph; that way I would not get a speeding ticket. I am driving along, in the left lane, passing trucks and cars and then the police officer. About a minute later I see those flashing lights and I pull over. LIterally, in Texas you have to weave in and out of traffic. You have to drive in the right lane, pass a car or truck in front of you, and then get back into the right lane. This is the stupidest traffic law ever. It felt so wrong, having to keep changing lanes every couple of seconds. He let me go with just a warning, and now I have a great little souvenir from Groom County, Tx.

After our little traffic incident, we were in Groom. We stopped at the Britten leaning water tower and then we were off to the LARGEST cross ever! I swear, everything really is bigger in TX. This gigantic cross, off the Hwy, has 12 different stations of the cross. It is free to go to and I guess at night you can see it from miles away. As we were driving we saw this large peace sign and cross, on the side of the Hwy so we made a quick pit-stop to have a look. Next stop, Big Tex at the Texan Steakhouse. We did eat here, but if you can eat a 72 oz. steak in an hour it is free. In the 60’s a wrestler ate 2! Disgusting!

We were so excited for our next stop, Cadillac Ranch!! Cadillac Ranch is an art installation in Amarillo and it is open to the public. You can take your cans of spray paint and have at it! Here a really sweet older couple took our picture and we saw them again at our next stop. As I mentioned earlier, there are all of these Historical 66 signs and since we were making great time we exited at almost all of them. This particular exit was in Adrian, the midway point between Chicago and Los Angeles. The couple from Cadillac Ranch were kind enough, again, to take our picture and we took theirs. Me and my sister didn’t really plan our Route 66 trip home. There were a few places we wanted to stop and the rest were all on the fly. The gentleman, a tow truck driver and his wife, who works for a school district in Kentucky, had spent the past year researching and planning their trip. They started in Kentucky and were taking Route 66 to the Grand Canyon, over the course of 2 weeks. I do wish we would have allotted more time on our Route 66 adventure, because we would have been able to take our time and take more of those historical exits. They told us of about an abandoned town, on the border of Tx and New Mexico, Glenrio. While driving down the bit of road that was Glenrio, it made me a little sad and I’m sure it was a wonderful spot to stop and grab a bite to eat during Route 66s heyday. This would be our last stop, before entering NM and stopping in Tucumcari for the night.

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Next time, part 2 or our Route 66 journey; Tucumcari, NM to Los Angeles. Happy Hump Day everyone!